With NHL training camps about a month away, most rosters still look like the ones teams will carry into the season. That feels true for the Boston Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney, even as trade chatter starts to swirl around a few names around the league.
One of the more interesting situations belongs to Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko. During the 2026 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that Marchenko was unlikely to sign a contract extension with the Blue Jackets. That immediately kicked up speculation about a possible move.
It’s easy to see why. Marchenko is entering the final season of his current deal, which carries a $3.9 million AAV, and he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
If Columbus believes he won’t re-sign, moving him now would make plenty of sense. And if he does hit the market, there should be no shortage of teams interested.
Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson recently named five possible trade destinations for Marchenko, and three of them would be especially unwelcome for the Bruins because they sit in the Atlantic Division: the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, and Buffalo Sabres. The other two teams on his list were the Utah Mammoth and Seattle Kraken.
Marchenko has the kind of production that would draw real attention. Columbus picked him in the second round of the 2018 Entry Draft, 49th overall, and he’s grown into one of the league’s rising young forwards.
Last season, he put up 27 goals and 40 assists in 76 games for a Blue Jackets team that narrowly missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. In 292 career games, he has 102 goals and 208 assists.
For Boston, the Atlantic Division angle is what makes this worth watching. Montreal is already on the rise in the East, and adding Marchenko would only strengthen that climb.
Buffalo would be the same kind of headache. Ottawa is a little different, especially after trading captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers and trying to retool on the fly.
Even there, Marchenko would be a major boost to that process.
In Other News...
Bruins Suddenly Have A Backup Goalie Battle Behind Swayman
Joonas Korpisalos move to the New York Rangers left the Bruins with an open lane behind Jeremy Swayman, and it has quickly turned into one of the more interesting early camp questions for Boston. Michael DiPietro has put himself in position to claim the job after standing out in the AHL, and the organization now has a real decision to make on who will dress as the No. 2 goalie when the season begins.
Jiri Patera, signed recently to a two-way contract, adds another layer to the competition and gives Boston a second option to weigh against DiPietro. The Bruins are expected to use training camp to sort it out, which means the backup role is not likely to be handed out on reputation alone. For a team that wants stability behind Swayman, this is one of the quieter battles worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Marchand Update Brings Back A Tough Bruins Reality
Brad Marchands latest injury update landed with a familiar sting for Bruins fans, because it brings back an uncomfortable reminder of how much his body has been through in recent years. The veteran forward said he underwent surgery for a lower-body injury, and the issue is believed to involve both his hip and a sports hernia, two areas that can make even a routine return to form a drawn-out process. For a player who has long been at the center of Bostons identity, any medical update involving Marchand inevitably carries bigger significance than just one roster note.
The timing only adds to the uncertainty. Marchands recovery could keep him sidelined for about two months, which would put his status for Opening Night in doubt and leave another gap in a Bruins lineup that has already had to adapt to his absences before. He had double hip surgery in 2022, and while he remains a major figure in the rivalry picture between Boston and Florida, this latest setback is another tough reminder that the road back for an aging star is rarely straightforward. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Just Lost Three Prospects As One Future Question Lingers
Three Bruins prospects have now hit the end of their signing window, closing the book on a trio of different development paths the organization had been tracking. Philip Svedebck, Oskar Jellvik and Mason Langenbrunner are all unrestricted free agents, giving Boston one more reminder that prospect pipelines do not always stay intact from draft day to the point where an NHL job might finally come into view.
Svedebck still wants to keep his pro hockey career going in North America, while Jellvik has moved on to a new opportunity in Sweden and Langenbrunner has stepped away from the game to pursue business ventures. For the Bruins, the bigger question is the same one that always follows a stretch like this: which young players still fit into the long-term plan, and which ones are already headed somewhere else? [Read more 🡒]